THE CLAUDIA QUINTET

NAMED RISING STAR JAZZ GROUP by DOWNBEAT 56^th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CRITICS POLL!

[From top left-clockwise: Matt Moran, John Hollenbeck, Chris Speed, Ted Reichman, and Drew Gress]

CUNEIFORM RECORDS is honored to announce that THE CLAUDIA QUINTET, a jazz ensemble led by composer/percussionist JOHN HOLLENBECK, has been named the RISING STAR JAZZ GROUP by DOWNBEAT 56th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CRITICS POLL. In addition, John Hollenbeck is named as both the RISING STAR COMPOSER of the year and the RISING STAR ARRANGER of the year in the poll. Indeed, The Claudia Quintet and its members won a staggering number of awards and nominations in this year's Downbeat's International Critics poll. Other Claudia bandmembers nominated for awards by Downbeat include Chris Speed, nominated for RISING STAR CLARINET; DREW GRESS, nominated for RISING STAR ACOUSTIC BASS and RISING STAR ELECTRIC BASS, MATT MORAN, nominated for both VIBES and RISING STAR VIBES; TED REICHMAN (accordion), nominated for RISING STAR MISCELLANEOUS INSTRUMENT.

DownBeat's International Critics Poll is the most prestigious jazz poll in the world, and is compiled from votes submitted by many of the world's best jazz journalists.

The Claudia Quintet is signed to Cuneiform Records, an internationally acclaimed record label that releases jazz, improv, experimental rock, avant progressive, electronic/ambient, classical minimalism, 'new weird americana' and numerous other genres 'beyond', by some of the best and most adventurous musicians from around the world. Based in the Washington DC (Silver Spring, MD) area since 1984, Cuneiform was recently honored in the Washington City Paper's 2008 BEST OF DC as DC's 'BEST HYPHENATE LABEL' in recognition of its genre-busting multi-genre music.

In addition to the members of The Claudia Quintet, several other artists associated with Cuneiform received nominations in various categories in the DownBeat 56th Annual Poll. Wadada Leo Smith, whose "Tabligh" CD was just released by Cuneiform, was nominated for TRUMPET. An archival recording that Cuneiform recently released, the Steve Lacy / Roswell Rudd Quartet's "Early and Late", was nominated for HISTORICAL ALBUM (and Rudd was also nominated for TROMBONE).

About The Claudia Quintet:

The Claudia Quintet's music demonstrates that “Innovative jazz does not have to be harsh, angry, loud, shrill or grating; it can be delicate, witty, ethereal and radiantly lyric, as the Claudia Quintet pointed out…” [Chicago Tribune]. Formed by composer / drummer / arranger John Hollenbeck in 1997, this NYC ensemble's sound explores the edge without alienating the mainstream, proving that genre-defying music can be for everyone. Over the past decade, the group has released four CDs that are critically acclaimed world wide and whose appeal extends well beyond, as well as including traditional jazz audiences. The group's first album, "The Claudia Quintet," was released on the Blueshift CRI record label. The group has since established a long time relationship with the Cuneiform label.

Since Hollenbeck first presented the band in an internet cafe on Avenue A in Manhattan in 1997, the Claudia Quintet has amazed audiences from Alabama to the Amazon. Their unique sound has inspired dancing hippie girls at a New Mexico noise festival, the avant-garde cognoscenti in the concert halls of Vienna and Sao Paolo, and a generation of young musicians worldwide. In the course of the thousands of miles they have traveled together and hundreds of concerts they've played, the Claudia Quintet has evolved and grown, developing a dynamic live sound based on trust and spontaneity. They bring this powerful energy into the studio, where they record the old-fashioned way, live, playing as a band. "

In the Claudia Quintet, Hollenbeck has assembled a group of the foremost innovators in this new sound to create a powerhouse band. They are: Drew Gress - bass (Tim Berne, Uri Caine, Ravi Coltrane), Matt Moran - vibraphone (Slavic Soul Party, Mat Maneri, Theo Bleckmann), Ted Reichman - accordion (Anthony Braxton, Marc Ribot, Paul Simon), and Chris Speed - clarinet and tenor saxophone (Human Feel, Bloodcount, Alas No Axis).

JOHN HOLLENBECK - drums/composition
John Hollenbeck's journey has been one of the most remarkable in contemporary music. Building on a wealth of experience in jazz and world styles as well as a deep interest in contemporary composition and spiritual practice, he has forged a lyrical new musical language, as accessible and expressive as it is advanced. After receiving degrees in percussion (B.M.) and jazz composition (M.M.) from the Eastman School of Music, Hollenbeck moved to New York City in the early 1990's. He has worked with many of the world's leading musicians in jazz (Bob Brookmeyer, Fred Hersch, Tony Malaby, the Village Vanguard Orchestra, Kenny Wheeler), world music (Pablo Ziegler), and new music (Meredith Monk).
Hollenbeck's recording career as a leader began in the winter of 2001 with the audacious simultaneous release of three critically acclaimed CDs on CRI/Blueshift: "no images," an ambitious composer's statement that Gary Giddins included in his Village Voice 2001 top ten list, "Quartet Lucy," and "The Claudia Quintet." His second Claudia Quintet recording, "I, Claudia" appeared on Cuneiform in 2004, followed by "Semi-Formal" in 2005. Also in 2005, Hollenbeck was nominated for a Grammy for his Large Ensemble's debut, "A Blessing" (Omnitone) in the category of Best Jazz Big Band CD. His next large ensemble recording, "Joys and Desires, featuring Jazz Big Band Graz and Theo Bleckmann, was released by Intuition in 2006 to critical acclaim.

Hollenbeck's numerous commissions include the IAJE Gil Evans Fellowship and the IAJE/ASCAP Commission. He has also received commissions from the Bamberg Symphony Choir, the Windsbacher Knabenchor, Studio Percussion (Graz), the Ethos Percussion Group, and the Bang On a Can All-Stars.
In 2004 and 2006, Hollenbeck was nominated for "Up and Coming Jazz Musician of the Year" by the Jazz Journalists Association. In 2006, he was also nominated for "Composer of the Year." Down Beat magazine has recognized him as a "Rising Star" in the Composer, Jazz Artist, Arranger, Big Band, and Jazz Group (Claudia Quintet) categories. In 2007, John won the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship. Hollenbeck is currently a professor of drumset and improvisation at Jazz Institute Berlin (Germany).

In October 2008, John will be self-releasing a CD of chamber music. This CD will be comprised of recent commissioned pieces which feature: The Claudia Quintet, Mark Stewart, Todd Reynolds, Ethos Percussion Group, Youngstown State Percussion Ensemble and Saxophone Quartet.

CHRIS SPEED - clarinet/tenor saxophone
One of the leading saxophonists and clarinetists of his generation, Chris Speed has appeared on over ninety records and has been voted rising star clarinetist for by Down Beat three years in a row. The legions of artists he has worked with include Jim Black, Tim Berne (Bloodcount), Uri Caine, Ben Perowsky, and John Zorn. Speed is a member of Alas No Axis, The Clarinets, and the recently reunited Human Feel (with Jim Black, Andrew D'Angelo, and Kurt Rosenwinkel). In 2006, Speed founded Skirl Records, a new record label focusing on Brooklyn music.

TED REICHMAN - accordion
Born in Aroostook County, Maine, Reichman's musical explorations started on an upright piano on a bean farm. At Wesleyan University, he studied with Alvin Lucier and Anthony Braxton, who hired Reichman to play accordion when he was nineteen. Reichman went on to record eight albums with Braxton, including "Duo (Leipzig) 1992" and the early documents of Ghost Trance Music. After moving to New York, Reichman became involved in free improvisation (with Marc Ribot, Anthony Coleman, Eugene Chadbourne), Jewish music (David Krakauer, Roberto Rodriguez), alternative country (Sue Garner, Laura Cantrell), and rock and roll (Paul Simon, Sam Phillips, Shivaree). In the process he founded a concert series at alt.coffee and became the original curator of Tonic. Reichman's work as a composer includes the critically acclaimed albums Emigré (Tzadik 2003), "My Ears are Bent" (Skirl 2006) and the original scores to the films "Rick," "René and I," "States of Unbelonging," and "The Memory Thief." Ted continues his work in film scoring and will be touring this fall with Sam Phillips.

MATT MORAN - vibraphone/percussion
Vibraphonist Matt Moran has a revolutionary approach to the instrument, creating new sounds and techniques and expanding the vibraphone's sonic palette. He has performed and recorded with a diverse range of artists including Joe Maneri, Sufjan Stevens, Theo Bleckmann, Mat Maneri, Saban Bajramovic, the Boban Markovic Orkestar, Mark Dresser, and Combustible Edison. As a percussionist, he leads the brass band Slavic Soul Party!, playing new music inspired by Balkan and American brass traditions. He has released six albums, including Sideshow (songs of Charles Ives) on the CRI label, and four Slavic Soul Party! albums on the Knitting Factory and Barbès Records labels. In 2006 Moran placed in the "Rising Star - Vibes" category in the Downbeat Critic's Poll, and in 2008 also placed in the "Vibes" category.  Moran has received performance, commission, and travel grants from the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Meet the Composer, and the Trust for Mutual Understanding.

DREW GRESS - acoustic bass
Drew Gress is one of the world's most in-demand bassists, currently working with John Abercrombie, Tim Berne, Uri Caine, Ravi Coltrane, Fred Hersch, Ralph Alessi, Marc Copland, and many others. He has also played and/or recorded with Don Byron, Dave Douglas, Ray Anderson, Erik Friedlander, Ellery Eskelin, and many more. As a composer, Gress has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer, and Chamber Music America. He has released three albums as a leader: "Spin and Drift" (Premonition), "Heyday" (Soul Note), and the recent, critically acclaimed "7 Black Butterflies" (Premonition).

Upcoming Appearances:

The Claudia Quintet

September 2008
26th Barbes, Brooklyn, NY, USA
27th Cornelia Street Cafe, NYC, NY, USA

October 2008
2nd D- Leipzig Jazz Festival, GERMANY
3rd NL- Tilburg, THE NETHERLANDS
6th NL- Eindhoven, THE NETHERLANDS
7th The Loft D - Köln, GERMANY
9th D- Offenburg, GERMANY
10th D- Viersen, GERMANY
11th A-Trane D-Berlin, GERMANY
12th A-Trane D-Berlin, GERMANY

November 2008
7th The Outpost Abuquerque, NM, USA
8th PASIC Austin, TX, USA (Percussive Arts Society International Convention....7000 attendees! A big deal in the percussive world!)
10th Enjoy Jazz Festival Heidelberg, GERMANY
11th Nevers Jazz Festival, FRANCE
12th Brest, FRANCE
14th London Jazz Festival, UK
15th Katowice, POLAND (first gig in Poland!)

John Hollenbeck

November 15th 2008- Premiere of new commission for Orquestra Jazz Matosinhos (Porto, Portugal)
featuring Joshua Redman, Chris Cheek and Mark Turner

next year:
January 5th, 2009 - Premiere of new commission for the Gotham Wind Symphony
January 6-10, 2009 / March 2-6, 2009 - residency at the Painted Bride, Philadelphia, PA

Please visit www.johnhollenbeck.com or www.cuneiformrecords.com for show updates.

Albums:

The Claudia Quintet "For"

          
LISTEN to "I'm So Fickin Cool" click on the speaker:

Building on the popularity and critical success of their previous CD's, "For," the group's latest release, continues Hollenbeck's startling development as a composer. John Hollenbeck is a leader of a new generation of musicians who have brought together many disparate threads of contemporary music to create a new sound. They embrace the textural freedom of electronic sounds and improvisation, the structural ambition of contemporary classical music, and most importantly, the joy of bodacious grooves and unapologetically gorgeous melodies.

But despite its mercurial versatility, this music is not just technical sophistication and post-modern genre-hopping. In "For," Hollenbeck has created a "musical offering" in tribute to those who have touched his life, some in unusual ways. Teachers, fellow musicians, friends, and family are among the dedicatees, but so are S.N. Goenka (Vipassana meditation founder) and Mary Cheney (Dick's daughter). These connections reflect the emotional and spiritual expression at the core of Hollenbeck's aesthetic. The music of the Claudia Quintet is heartfelt, joyous and thought provoking."For" is for everyone.

"For" is the new CD by the Claudia Quintet, the genre-defying band led by Grammy-nominated composer John Hollenbeck. "For" is a positive message. "For" is driving rhythms, beautiful melodies, and passionate virtuosity. "For" is for all music lovers. "For" is also their fourth CD.

To read the full press release, please click: HERE

"Though this combination of instruments and this blend of styles are hardly obvious, the band now sounds so thoroughly integrated and seamless that you'd think it was a tenor-trumpet quintet or a 16-piece big band. You can almost imagine other clarinet/vibes/accordion groups springing up in its wake. Yet how many would have jazz soloists as imposing and inventive as Speed and Gress, or a composer as fiendish, playful, and patient as Hollenbeck?
Few. Or, actually, none. Though I encourage folks to give it a go. The Claudia Quintet, inimitable, deserves to inspire. … ”
- Will Layman, PopMatters, October 1, 2007, http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/48710/the-claudia-quintet-for/print/

"A fertile blend of infectious grooves, euphonious melodies, rich harmonies, adventurous improvisation and cinematic ambience, For is another winning chapter in the saga of the peerless Claudia Quintet.”
- Troy Collins, All About Jazz, July 01, 2007, http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=26050

"This is a bright, expressive recording that should grab the listener with immediacy.”
- Jerry D'Souza, All About Jazz, January 03, 2008, http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=27999

"They are pursuing a completely singular path in 'jazz' music and while they completely deserve to have an audience for their singular music, it was by no means assured.
An astonishing band with a huge range of emotional depth and range and with appeal far beyond strictly 'jazz' listeners.”
- The Vortex, http://www.vortexjazz.co.uk/cd-reviews/for.html

To read more reviews of "For," please click: HERE

The Claudia Quintet "Semi-Formal"

          
LISTEN to "Drew's Late" click on the speaker:

In Semi-Formal, The Claudia Quintet's 3rd CD and 2nd Cuneiform release, Hollenbeck pushes jazz further into the more “formal” New Music/classical camp. All About Jazz has noted that Hollenbeck's compositions reach “beyond jazz, inching up on chamber music but informed by ethnic, rock, and modern composition as well.” At times the membrane between “jazz” and “new music” dissolves, resulting in compositions that ebb and flow between styles while standing on their own, outside rigid genre: “semi-formal” but not semi-formed.

Hollenbeck calls Semi-Formal a “listener's record” : a work that reveals its full range of charms and inner logic only in multiple listens, over time. But in typically Claudian fashion, the disc is not a difficult listen and charms on first spin. Dusted remarks, “it's rare to find a band that can actually strike a balance between cerebral challenge and relaxed accessibility.” Rich, complex pieces are punctuated by what Hollenbeck calls “palette cleansers”: brief works that use space, silence, and atypical instrumentation to break from and punctuate Claudia's texturally dense sound. In Semi-Formal, Hollenbeck's compositions range from austere, minimal works, evoking Feldman, to rhythmic, cyclically-generated pieces indebted to electronica and minimalism, to jazz compositions evoking much larger bands.

To read the full press release, please click: HERE

"The references span from surf rock to chamber jazz to hyperarticulate “acoustica” club beats, all rendered with exquisite precision and heedless abandon (if that's even possible). Compositionally, there are too many moments of brilliance to list here…”
- David R. Adler, JazzTimes

"Though Hollenbeck's music is undoubtedly clever stuff…it's played with enough heart to make it lovable rather then just admirable. Brilliant.”
- Peter Marsh. BBC Online, www.bbc.co.uk

"The quintet's instrumental palette has never before been this expansive, with all of the players doubling and tripling on different instruments, and the scattered solos emerge in a satisfyingly organic fashion, spouting from a passage in such a way that it might just sound like part of the writing. Impressive. 3 1/2 STARS.”
- Peter Margasak, DownBeat, Vol. 73, No. 1, January 2006

“Semi-Formal features…mathematically precise, swinging tunes from one of the most unusual bands in jazz. ... Semi-Formal goes down easy with its advanced harmonic ideas couched in an ass-kicking rhythm section.”
- David Dacks, Exclaim!, November 2005 [Canada]

"…With their distinctive merger of old world timbres and futuristic concepts, the Claudia Quintet truly sounds like no other working ensemble today.”
- Troy Collins, One Final Note, 11/28/05, www.onefinalnote.com

To read more reviews of "Semi-Formal," please click: HERE

The Claudia Quintet "I, Claudia"

          
LISTEN to "Misty Hymen" click on the speaker:

The Claudia Quintet's 2nd release, I, Claudia demonstrates that "Innovative jazz does not have to be harsh, angry, loud, shrill or grating; it can be delicate, witty, ethereal and radiantly lyric, as the Claudia Quintet pointed out..." [Chicago Tribune]. Formed by composer/drummer John Hollenbeck in 1997, this NY ensemble creates music that explores the edge in a manner that captivates and enthralls novice listeners, and keeps experienced fans returning for more. 'Claudia's', I, Claudia is a highly seductive work, ripe with compelling, propulsive grooves, dynamic sensitivity and telepathic improvisation. Remarkably accessible, its music can perhaps be called post-jazz.

To read the full press release, please click: HERE

“John Hollenbeck is a drummer and composer who seems to be making all the right moves. …This, the second album…reveals evidence of artistic growth, not only on the part of Hollenbeck who writes for the band, but in terms of how the band members seem more conscious of working within an ensemble… Often, Hollenbeck's writing seems flavored by Balinese Gamelan music as they artfully work towards their goal.”
- Stuart Nicholson, Jazzwise, April 2004

"…Hollenbeck's compositions are beyond jazz, inching up on chamber music but informed by ethnic, rock, and modern composition as well. … a band with the hippest groove in music today.”
-Mark Corroto, All About Jazz, Feb 2004, www.allaboutjazz.com

“The music itself still works the furrow between the “downtown” improvising, post-rock propulsion, and New Music minimalism (in the Glass/Reich sense). …Hollenbeck is as likely to join the vibraphone on his marimba as he is to kick out the jams.
Quirky polymeters and syncopations abound, and though Hollenbeck likes to bring the funk, there's plenty to stimulate the ol' noggin here as well. His composer's knack for structure generally leads him to set up ear-catching ideas - “accessible,” in other words….…it's rare to find a band that can actually strike a balance between cerebral challenge and relaxed accessibility.”
- Jason Bivins, Dusted, www.dustedmagazine.com, March 29, 2004

“The Claudia Quintet creates a fresh, distinctive sound while it obliterates barriers between jazz, classical and progressive rock. …"
- Jon Andrews, DownBeat, May 2004, v. 71,#5

"And jazz, more than most genres, needs a band like Claudia.”
- Brent Burton, “The Quiet Revolution: I, Claudia,” Washington City Paper, v. 24, No. 6, Feb 13- 19, 2004

“There's something here to alienate just about every top-40 fan: new-music minimalism, Tortoise-style soundtrack dreaming, radical jazz soloing, and Canterbury-variety prog rock. No surprise, then, that it all sounds so right, and so fresh. Drummer-composer John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet is a great unknown band just waiting to be discovered.”
- Alex Varty, Georgia Straight, straight.com, Dec. 16, 2004

"I, Claudia is at once challenging and fun - full of surprises with, and great performances by all.”
- Sean Fitzell, All About Jazz/ AAJ-NY, Feb 2004, www.allaboutjazz.com

To read more reviews of "I, Claudia," please click: HERE

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CONTACT INFORMATION:

For more information on The Claudia Quintet's releases on Cuneiform or to book a phone/email interview please contact:

Joyce at joyce [at] cuneiformrecords.com
Director of Publicity & Promotion
Cuneiform Records
P.O. Box 8427
Silver Spring, MD 20907
USA
phone: 301-589-8894 fax: 301-589-1819
www.cuneiformrecords.com

If you would like to contact John Hollenbeck and rest of The Claudia Quintet directly, please contact:

John Hollenbeck at flexatone [at] verizon.net

For more information about the band, please see:
www.johnhollenbeck.com or www.myspace.com/theclaudiaquintet